I'm really not doing business

Chapter 718: Your Majesty, urgent news! Shuntian Prefecture has fallen!

The reason why Zhu Yijun repeatedly mentioned the issue of food and fodder was that in the two previous Wanli wars to aid Korea, Korea repeatedly stabbed the Ming Dynasty, clearly stating that the food and fodder "had no one to transport them, and were piled up in the open air, wondering when they would be transported and eaten." They were piled up like mountains in the open air and allowed to rot, and the Ming Dynasty refused to give them to the soldiers for use, causing the Ming soldiers fighting in Korea to cry out in hunger and cold.

In the 21st year of Wanli, before the Ming army officially entered Korea to fight, the Korean King Yi Sun, Minister Choi Heungwon and others promised to provide 40,000 soldiers and 20,000 war horses with two months' worth of military rations if they entered Korea. Under the leadership of Li Rusong, the 40,000 Ming army officially entered Korea to fight.

Li Rusong came to Korea's aid and wiped out more than 796 Japanese pirates in Pyongyang at the cost of 11300 casualties. Konishi Yukinaga lost more than men and fled from Pyongyang. However, after the great victory in Pyongyang, the food and fodder promised by Korea were delayed in delivering to the Ming army.

Song Yingchang, the governor-general of military affairs and minister of Liaodong, cursed the Joseon king Yi Sun, Choi Heungwon and others for going back on their word in his memorial, and lamented the misery of the troops who entered the Joseon army to fight, saying: "Since the soldiers crossed the Yangtze River, they have not been able to eat vegetables, meat, salted soy sauce, etc. Their armors are infested with lice, and their clothes and shoes are torn. When it rains, they are soaked, hug each other and cry. As many as 16,000 horses have fallen. The soldiers can imagine what has happened." ("Report to the Three Prime Ministers and Sima Shi")
Song Yingchang was a civil servant, and he wished he could kill all the Korean kings and ministers!
A great victory was won in Pyongyang, but as a result, 16,000 horses alone starved to death. You can imagine the extent of the shortage of food and fodder.

Li Rusong could only keep his troops in place and waited for two full months. Only when the Ming Dynasty's grain and grass arrived did Li Rusong begin to advance. During these two months, the King of Korea, Yi Sun, kept urging Li Rusong to advance, as did the Ming Emperor and the Minister of War. However, Li Rusong remained motionless. He explained to the court that he had no food or drink, while the King of Korea argued that he was exhausted from years of fatigue and could not cheer himself up.

The Wanli Emperor's attitude towards this was: He has sympathy for his actions, but he is not entirely treacherous, and I believe he is sincere without any doubt.

Emperor Wanli accepted the statement of King Yi Sun of Korea, saying that it was excusable, and repeatedly issued orders to urge Li Rusong to come forward. Li Rusong complained bitterly, but the emperor did not believe him, so what could he do?
This situation would occur every time the Ming army won a battle. They fought countless verbal battles, but verbal battles could not bring in food and fodder. The court urged them to pay, the soldiers were hungry, the horses fell, and the gunpowder was insufficient. Li Rusong had been domineering in Liaodong for half his life, but he had never fought such a frustrating battle.

Now, Lee Sun-sin also told the emperor directly that the Korean side could not and was unwilling to deal with the issue of food and fodder.

"Why not? Were the Japanese pirates attacking the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Yijun was very puzzled. Did King Yi Sun of Joseon get kicked in the head by a donkey? It was Joseon that was attacked by the Japanese pirates, not the Ming Dynasty!
Even if they had grain, they would not give it to us. They insisted that the Ming Dynasty transport it from the inland. If we sent 10,000 dan of grain from Tianjin Port, we would have to pay 30,000 dan of freight! Even if the Ming Dynasty was the Celestial Empire, it would not be able to survive after seven years of fighting like this!

"In my king's eyes, the Japanese pirates are thieves, and the heavenly soldiers are also thieves. The Japanese pirates cannot be powerful, and the heavenly soldiers cannot be powerful. If the heavenly soldiers are really the king's army, then how can the King of Joseon be the king of all people?" Li Shunchen answered very quickly, without even the slightest hesitation, and there was even some grievance in his tone.

Li Shunchen felt very wronged!
The reason why Lee Sun-sin could give the answer so quickly was related to his experience in Korea. Korea also had the spirit of promoting culture over military. Lee Sun-sin led troops to fight in Korea, and they could only raise food and grass by themselves, which meant burning, killing, looting, and plundering. For a time, in the eyes of the people, Korean soldiers were no different from bandits. It was difficult to be a military general in the Ming Dynasty, and it was also difficult to be a military general in Korea.

The heavenly soldiers are truly the king's army and will seriously affect the ruling foundation of the King of Korea. This is the full picture of what Lee Sun-sin said: it's not that they can't, but they are unwilling to.

"Korea is mountainous. The king can go from Seoul to Kaesong, then Pyongyang, and finally to Uiju. The king can move according to the situation, but how can the people move?" Yi Sun-sin bowed his head and said, "I hope that the Ming army will save the people of Korea from their predicament. I also hope that Your Majesty will see the short-sightedness of the Korean princes and nobles and not be deceived."

In Lee Sun-sin's view, the best outcome for him would be to become a Tartar official in Ming Dynasty after the war, so his position was naturally on the side of Ming Dynasty. If he died on the battlefield, he would be a loyal and brave hero in fighting against the Japanese invaders, and he would not lose out either way. However, continuing to be loyal to the King of Korea was the stupidest thing to do.

It's not worth it. Yi Sun-sin hated the ruling class of Korea to the core.

There is a god above our heads. We should not act like beasts when doing things. The Ming army entered Korea to fight. The purpose of eliminating the Japanese pirates was to save the people of Korea. As a result, when the Ming army entered Korea, the enemy was not only the Japanese pirates. They also had to fight wits and courage with these worse than beasts. He hoped that the Ming court could see the true face of these beasts as soon as possible and reduce the losses.

Especially your majesty.

This is the basic morality and bottom line as a human being. No matter what, it was the Ming Dynasty that entered the Korean War to save Korea.

For the Ming Dynasty, it was not necessary to go through Korea to destroy Japan. It could start from the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office and strike straight into Japan. The Ming navy was powerful and was constantly getting stronger. When Yi Sun-sin arrived in the Ming Dynasty, he saw the court report that the Ming court had been arguing recently over the expansion of the navy.

The main argument was about how much to expand. The radicals believed it was 50,000, the conservatives thought it was too much and 30,000 would be enough, and the extreme conservatives believed it was 100,000. If the navy was expanded to 200,000, it would be almost the same as during the Yongle period, which could be regarded as a restoration of the ancestral law.

"We have mobilized troops in all directions and transferred supplies over thousands of miles, but the King of Korea is so unreasonable. The soldiers will surely cry out in hunger and cold when they enter the court. I really cannot bear it." Zhu Yijun thought for a long time, took a deep breath, and said to Lee Sun-sin.

This was not sending soldiers to fight in Korea, it was clearly sending soldiers to die. To train one elite soldier in the Ming Dynasty's capital camp required sixteen cows, so Zhu Yijun was unwilling to do that.

"It's nothing." Li Rusong looked puzzled and said in a daze, "Why don't we just bypass the King of Korea? Once we conquer a place, it will belong to the Han people. We can take it inch by inch, advance little by little, and put in food and grass."

Qi Jiguang's expression was calm, even a little serious. Li Shunchen looked around without saying a word. Everyone looked at the Emperor.

Li Rusong's words were so matter-of-fact that he actually regarded Korea as his own. After the war, how many of the 17 million people in Korea would be left? Military disasters are much more serious than natural disasters. After the war, Korea could be completely self-sufficient. Even with the actuarial style of the lowly scholars in the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to calculate that the Korean Peninsula would be included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"What do you think, General Li?" Zhu Yijun looked at Li Shunchen and asked.

"I think it's a good idea. The people of Korea are sincerely looking forward to the rain." Li Shunchen did not hesitate much. Instead, he agreed with Li Rusong's radicalism.

North Korea is divided into two parts, North and South. The north is mountainous and the land is barren, with 70% dry fields and 30% paddy fields. It is difficult to build roads, and the products are not very abundant, and there is little precipitation. The south is a plain, with 70% paddy fields and 30% dry fields. It is an endless plain, and roads are easy to build. The population is relatively dense, and there are many ports and developed industry and commerce.

If the Ming Dynasty took the northern part alone, the actuarial scholars would bang their abacus and loudly question the emperor, is the expansion of these mountains and valleys a preparation for poverty alleviation? ! Can't we find some places with good natural endowments to expand the territory? !

But if the Ming Dynasty took away both the southern and northern parts, the actuarial Confucian scholar would do some calculations and reluctantly accept this expansion.

Qi Jiguang believed that this time they should fight in Korea, they should advance step by step, and Li Rusong had no better idea, so he simply copied Emperor Taizu Gao's specialty of taking the enemy inch by inch.

"Advance inch by inch" is a strategy widely used by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it has been used repeatedly over the past two hundred years.

This strategy is actually a variation of the scorched earth strategy. It involves fighting a hundred miles but only taking ten miles. It does not blindly expand the results of the battle or pursue the enemy blindly. The ninety miles are the buffer zone of the war. Fighting may break out in this buffer zone at any time. In this case, the buffer zone will become a no-man's land. This is cruel, but it is also an effective strategy.

The only problem with this approach is that it is a bit slow. Slow means it will take a long time. The court cannot change its approach repeatedly but must implement it consistently. Apart from being slow, it has many advantages. The biggest advantage is that there will be no future troubles, because people have already made their own choices in the gradual transition from the buffer zone to the no-man's land.

"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong with what I said?" Li Rusong asked in a low voice.

"No problem! What I want is for you to take this matter for granted and treat it as your own business with confidence!" Zhu Yijun said with a smile on his face.

Your Majesty said there was no problem. Li Rusong really believed it. He believed in Qi Jiguang and also believed in Your Majesty. Your Majesty said that his idea was right, so no one could say it was wrong.

Li Rusong did not like politics, he even opposed the idea of ​​civil officials being in charge of military affairs. He felt that his father Li Chengliang was a bit too cunning, and that as a descendant of military honors, he could be simpler and be a military general who won for the sake of winning.

The greatest reliance of Li Rusong's simplicity is that Your Majesty is creating an environment where military generals and soldiers do not have to face so many evil minds.

It was a blessing to be a general in the Wanli Dynasty.

Li Rusong was itching to show off his skills, so he started fighting with Li Sun-sin. Li Sun-sin was no match for Li Rusong. Li Rusong was now the most powerful general of the Ming Dynasty, and even the aging Qi Jiguang could not beat Li Rusong. Xiong Tingbi passed the autumn examination and had to prepare for next year's joint examination at the Quan Chu Guild Hall. Otherwise, Li Sun-sin might not even be able to bully Xiong Tingbi.

Lee Sun-sin was a good fighter, but he was only in Korea, and there was still a big gap between him and the powerful generals of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Ningyuan has arrived." The eunuch reported to Your Majesty that Li Chengliang had arrived. He came to say goodbye and would return to Liaodong before the New Year.

"Your Majesty, long live your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Marquis Ningyuan, please sit down. I really feel guilty. Marquis Ningyuan is old and does not want to fight, but this time the army is going to Korea to fight. I am worried about the others."

"If the king has given the order, I shall serve him wholeheartedly." Li Chengliang bowed his head again before sitting down. This time when he returned to Liaodong, Li Chengliang submitted two memorials to refuse. He believed that it was enough for Wang Rulong to stay in Liaodong and he did not need to go there. However, Wang Rulong wanted to follow Qi Jiguang to the court, and there was no suitable candidate in the court for a while.

Li Chengliang really didn't want to go to Liaodong. People said that he, Li Chengliang, was harboring enemies for his own benefit. For the sake of his own hereditary title, Li Chengliang had to take the initiative to reduce this possibility. Moreover, fighting a war was an extremely exhausting thing and was by no means easy.

But this is the situation, I have to go.

Feng Bao explained the situation to Li Sun-sin in detail. Li Chengliang listened attentively and thought carefully. He didn't say anything until Li Rusong said "take an inch at a time". Then he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for making fun of you. My son is always brave and simple-minded. He hasn't even conquered the city yet, but he has already entered our family's home."

"However, I think that the detailed maps of the roads in Wangjing and Pyongyang presented by Yi Sun-sin cannot be trusted completely. Your Majesty, it is not that I do not trust Yi Sun-sin. Yi Sun-sin is right here. I do not trust the Joseon King Yi Sun. The geomantic map he gave to the envoy may be partially correct, but it must be wrong."

"If the court accepts all of this, it will suffer a great loss."

Zhu Yijun suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Chengliang. It must be said that the old one is still the most experienced. Li Chengliang distrusted the King of Korea to the extreme and even believed that there was a trap in the road map that Korea gave to the Ming Dynasty!

This made Zhu Yijun break out in a cold sweat. It was possible that Li Cheng was really setting a trap for the Ming Dynasty!
"What Ningyuan Hou said makes a lot of sense!" Zhu Yijun said confidently, "This geomancy map should be drawn by Daming himself, so it can be trusted."

"I don't believe the King of Korea. Since the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, even Japan has open ports such as Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Harima, Settsu, Izumi, Osaka Sakai City, etc., but Korea has none of them. Korea clearly has good ports such as Yizhou, Incheon, and Busan, but to this day, none of its open ports trade with the Ming Dynasty." Li Chengliang leaned forward slightly and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Korea is resisting." Li Chengliang knew Korea very well. Korea had so many good ports, but none of them were built. Instead, it clung to the tribute trade. This was not for the reward from the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty did indeed repay Korea generously and doubled the price, but Korea was more for the monopoly of the trading rights with the Ming Dynasty.

In Li Chengliang's view, this is resistance.

Resist the silver trade system that is gradually taking shape in the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty had been quietly building a supply system with silver as the main medium of circulation, which could be seen in the payment of military salaries. The Ming Dynasty's full salary was half paid in silver by the court, and the rest was given in kind by local governments to soldiers. The local governments got silver from the court. From the perspective of the court, the full salary was paid in silver, but from the perspective of local governments, they paid half of the money in kind. From the perspective of the soldiers, they received fair-priced kind and sufficient silver military salaries.

However, Korea's isolationist policy resulted in a situation where there was no silver as a general equivalent in Korea. When the Ming army entered Korea to fight, the first thing they had to consider was the silver for the soldiers. There was simply no place to spend the money, so providing food was the first priority.

"Your Majesty, I have come to the court to present a five-point memorial on the pacification of the Japanese pirates." Li Chengliang took out the memorial and presented it to Your Majesty in person.

First, there was the division of powers and responsibilities. When the Ming Dynasty sent grain and fodder to Liaodong, Liaodong was responsible for transporting the grain and fodder from Lushun and Liaoyang to Yizhou, Korea. Li Chengliang ensured that there was no problem with the grain and fodder on this route. Second, he leveled the roads from Lushun to Yizhou, Korea, and from Liaoyang to Yizhou, Korea, and built highways with the engineering corps to the best of his ability. Third, he selected those who were familiar with Korean affairs, had talents and strengths, were experienced in affairs, and were familiar with the dangers and difficulties of the roads to serve as guides for the army. Fourth, he built 50,000 vehicles and oxen and horses and transported them to Yizhou for the army to use. Fifth, he conscripted 1,000 sergeants to be on standby in Korea to facilitate the transportation of grain and fodder.

"Now we need to add one more item, which is to recruit grain producers from all over the country to come to the court to cultivate the land." Li Chengliang temporarily added one more item, which was the six things to do when entering the court to pacify the Japanese pirates.

The last reason is that the strategy of the Ming Dynasty has changed, and additional matters have been added. If they want to advance inch by inch, they must cultivate land and establish military garrisons to support the war. Otherwise, the long-term consumption will be beyond the capacity of the Ming Dynasty court. Military garrisons or military garrisons are the prerequisites for advancing inch by inch. Otherwise, a protracted war will inevitably cause a huge burden on food and fodder.

The meaning of Li Chengliang's memorial was very clear. He was not going back to Liaodong to enjoy himself, but to work hard in Liaodong to ensure the smooth progress of the Ming army's campaign in Korea.

"Thank you, Marquis Ningyuan. I wonder if Marquis Ningyuan is willing to go to Korea to garrison after the war?" Zhu Yijun said seriously.

"Whoever wants to go can go, but I won't go." Li Chengliang said immediately, "I don't want to go to that remote place, and I'm an old man, I can't guard it for a few days, Your Majesty, please choose someone else."

Li Chengliang looked at Li Rusong. He was different from Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Yuanxun. His son Li Rusong was going to be the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp and the general of the Ming Dynasty. If he went to Korea and became a local tyrant, it would affect Li Rusong's progress.

He couldn't go. Besides, he felt that he was too old and would not live long, nor could he guard the city for more than a few days.

Li Chengliang didn't know that he could live to be over 90 years old. He felt that at his age, he would be just a pile of bones in a grave in a few years.

"Let's talk about it after the fight." Zhu Yijun nodded, not dwelling on the matter too much.

"This boy is quite brave. After the war, he can serve as an official in the Ming Dynasty. His talent will not be wasted." Li Chengliang had a favorable impression of Lee Sun-sin. It would be a bit of a waste to keep him in Korea. In the war against Japan, Lee Sun-sin could play the role of buying a horse with a lot of gold, which would be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty's rule in Korea.

The fact that Lee Sun-sin was given an important position represented that the Ming Dynasty did not overly look down on the Korean region. This attitude could effectively ease the contradictions within the Ming Dynasty. For some things, Lee Sun-sin, a Korean, could speak more effectively than the Ming Dynasty.

The Ministry of Rites was quite methodical in its work and actually went to Oda City to ask questions.

Oda Nobunaga's slogan for spreading military power throughout the world did include 'sweeping the Ming Dynasty and uniting the Three Kingdoms into one', and Hashiba Hideyoshi did clearly explain the meaning of the two words 'enter the Tang Dynasty': I will add Tang territory to my territory as long as I live. According to Oda Ichi's account, the trend of Japan entering the Tang Dynasty was very strong, which was also the fundamental reason why Oda Nobunaga was able to launch the war of aggression against Korea.

The accusations made by the Korean envoys Yi Houbaek and Yi Sun-sin against Japan were completely valid, and there were even details that the Korean side was not aware of. For example, Mori Terumoto had frequent contacts with Ming merchants, and even said to others many times: Once we attack Tang, there will be thousands of people in Ming who will respond and join in the celebration.

The Japanese invasion from the middle of the Jiajing period to the early Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty is the most typical case.

When the Ministry of Rites reported everything to the court, the Emperor replied: I killed too few people during my southern tour.

When the huge war machine of the Ming Dynasty began to operate slowly, Japan launched the war of aggression against Korea on the second day of December in the 13th year of Wanli, on the grounds that the King of Korea refused to go to Kyoto to pay homage.

"Your Majesty, urgent news! Shuntian Prefecture has fallen!" A eunuch rushed into Tonghe Palace with a report in his hand. He was really panicking. Shuntian Prefecture has fallen. When these five words came out, the eunuch was scared to death. Could this Japanese country have some kind of magic to ward off evil? They could actually fight from Japan to the capital of the Ming Dynasty!
"What the hell? Shuntian Prefecture fell?" Zhu Yijun took the report and looked confused. He was in Shuntian Prefecture, and the Japanese pirates really came to the capital, but he, the emperor, didn't know about it? Was Oda Nobunaga going to execute a decapitation operation?

After reading the Tangbao, Zhu Yijun realized that it was not Shuntian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty that fell, but Shuntian of Korea that was captured by Japanese pirates.

(Suncheon, North Korea)
Suncheon Prefecture in Korea is near the Noryangjin Strait, which is the Noryangjin Strait where the Battle of Noryang took place. This battle report looks particularly scary. If you don’t know, you might think that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was captured by Japanese pirates.

The Japanese pirates were divided into three routes. One route broke through Busan and Dongnae and reached Gyeongju. Another route attacked Masan, Geoje, and Okpo. Another route attacked Noryangjin and Suncheon. It seemed that they were planning to launch a surprise attack on Seoul.

"Is North Korea so weak? They can't even withstand a single blow? They were completely defeated before they could even last one round?" Zhu Yijun stood up abruptly and looked at the geomancy map. The situation was worse than he had imagined. The North Korean side collapsed at the first blow.

Even the most radical Li Rusong believed that North Korea could hold out for three months, while Qi Jiguang believed that North Korea could hold out for half a year. As a result, after three days of fighting, all defense lines were useless. Three months? Even a month would be enough.

"What are the Korean civil and military officials doing?" Zhu Yijun pointed at Busan on the geomancy map and said, "Busan, Okpo, and Suncheon, from the perspective of our army, are all strategic locations that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if we tie up a dog, these three places will not be taken by the Japanese pirates in three days!"

Zhu Yijun was not familiar with military affairs, but based on his superficial military knowledge, these three places were taken over within three days. Korea was really a hopeless case!
"Your Majesty, there is a traitor." Feng Bao also finished reading the newspaper and immediately said, "Many generals on the Korean side have been bribed. Wherever the Japanese pirates arrive, these generals simply open the city gates and surrender."

"That's not surprising." Zhu Yijun nodded and understood why the battle turned out like this.

The Ming army has its own plans and needs to make preparations. It will set out for Liaodong after the New Year. After arriving at Liaodong Regional Military Commission, it will go to Jiuliancheng (now Dandong) depending on the situation and wait for the emperor's edict before entering the DPRK to fight. The Ming Dynasty is not in a hurry; it is Korea that should be.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty knew the news of the fall of Busan earlier than the King of Korea. The Ming Dynasty seriously overestimated Korea's resistance ability. On the 19th day of the Japanese invasion of Korea, the Korean royal capital of Seoul fell.

When the news reached the Ming Dynasty, all the civil and military officials were so shocked that their eyes almost popped out!

On December 21st of the 13th year of the Wanli reign, in the Wenhua Hall of the Ming Dynasty court, the civil and military officials participating in the court meeting were talking a lot. When the eunuchs shouted in unison that the emperor had arrived, the officials quieted down.

Zhu Yijun walked up to the platform with a swift and graceful step, waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite, take a seat."

"It took only nineteen days from the time the Japanese pirates swore to march to Korea, and the Korean capital of Seoul fell into their hands yesterday. Even 300,000 pigs were too many for the Japanese pirates to capture in nineteen days, but it took only nineteen days for three hundred thousand Koreans to capture the capital. This really opened my eyes!" Zhu Yijun looked at General Qi Jiguang and asked with a frown, "General Qi, are the Japanese pirates also so violent in the Southern Court?"

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates invaded Nan Ya, but were repelled by the 3,000 soldiers of Zhenwu Camp. We chased them for 120 miles, beheaded more than 1,200 people, burned more than 100 ships, and there were more than 3,400 Japanese pirates." Qi Jiguang hurriedly bowed his head and said.

Although the Ming Dynasty demolished its city walls in the south, although the Ming Dynasty was strong in both civil and military affairs, and although the Ming Dynasty had so many troubles that they could write several books, the Japanese pirates never got such benefits from the Ming Dynasty.

Korea was said to have an army of 300,000, but the Japanese invaders captured the royal city in 19 days.

"Oda Nobunaga's black servant Yasuke can even show off his power in Korea!" Zhu Yijun didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. He was really too weak.

Oda Nobunaga had a samurai named Yasuke, who was a black barbarian, a genuine West African slave who was trafficked to Japan by the red-haired barbarians. On the Korean battlefield, he was like a god of death, invincible, which was really laughable.

"Your Majesty, should we advance our troops in advance? The defeat is devastating. Judging from the current situation, Korea cannot hold out for three months." Zeng Shengwu, as a conservative, believed that as the suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty should advance its troops now. Since the King of Korea cannot defend, let the Ming Dynasty take over.

The rapid defeat in the three battles of Busan was due to the Japanese pirates' attack being as smooth as a sharp knife cutting through tofu. The chain reaction of defeat, once it started, could not be stopped at all. The morale completely collapsed and it was impossible to form any effective resistance.

"No hurry." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Military affairs are of great importance. Now that we have decided on the strategy, we must make full preparations."

"I obey your command." Zeng Xingwu bowed his head and accepted the order. There was no need to rush before the Ming Dynasty intervened militarily.

"Your Majesty, the sons of King Oda Nobunaga of Japan have all arrived in Ming Dynasty safely and are now staying in Shiyi-kan. Oda Ichi and Kanda Shinichi have presented a letter from Oda Nobunaga to request his submission." The Minister of Rites Wan Shihe presented a letter from the emperor.

Zhu Yijun opened the letter and read it for a long time. In the letter, Oda Nobunaga promised that he would not attack further when the army reached Seoul, leaving northern Korea as a buffer zone with the Ming Dynasty; and ceding the occupied Incheon to the Ming Dynasty; requesting the Ming Dynasty navy to garrison in Incheon, Busan, and Yamatai naval ports in order to clamp down on the Ming Dynasty; Oda Nobunaga promised that as long as he was alive, he would not attack the Ming Dynasty. If he violated his promise, he would be arrested by the Kyoto District Public Prosecutors Office.

"A delaying tactic?" Zhu Yijun raised the letter in his hand and said, "Even the Japanese pirates know how to conduct diplomacy in a war! They know that Ming is the key to victory in this war, and they will use all means to delay Ming's entry into Korea. But what about Korea?! They are still crying about the so-called mother country!"

"How can people be so stupid!"

(End of this chapter)