In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 328: Literati all reject the expansion of territory

As the weather got warmer, the Second Corps stationed in the northeast officially launched an attack on the peninsula after more than three months of preparations.

Under the leadership of General Huang Ben, [-] Korean servants and [-] Chinese field troops easily invaded Ping'an Road.

After the army entered Ping'an Road, Huang Ben did not rush for success, but adopted a strategy of attacking steadily and encroaching step by step.

That is, every time they go to a place, all the nobles will be cleared out, and then the land will be distributed to ordinary people, households will be compiled, and Han officials will be directly assigned to manage it.

The valiant servant army was sent to various villages to assist Han officials in management. In addition, it was declared tax-free for three years, so the ordinary people of the peninsula did not resist at all and became obedient citizens of Dahua.

The reason is that firstly, the people of the peninsula already have a good impression and yearning for the Han Dynasty. Secondly, the peninsula is now fragmented. Compared with the barbaric Jurchens and the ferocious Japanese, the people of the peninsula are more willing to accept Han rule.

Of course, the nobles and landowners, especially those who were like earth emperors, regarded the incoming Chinese army as a savage beast and were almost all frightened.

At the beginning, these noble lords, like ordinary people, also loved the Han Dynasty. They even wished that the Chinese army would come over early and help them drive away the Jurchens and Japanese like the Ming Dynasty did.

But what these aristocratic landowners never expected was that the Chinese army showed no mercy to ordinary people, but treated them more harshly than the Japanese and Jurchens.

Any family with a little bit of land and voice in the local area will suffer. Not only will all the property be confiscated, but all the adult men will be killed, and the women will be demoted to slavery. They will not be given any way to survive, not even a chance to surrender. Give.

After the news spread, all the landowners and middle- and upper-class people in North Korea were in a panic. Apparently everyone was not stupid and understood that this time the Han people were probably not here to rescue them, but to annex the entire peninsula.

Therefore, they all chose to unite and fight against the Chinese army, and no longer had any hope of surrendering to Dahua.

But Dorgon and the Japanese were overjoyed. After the Chinese army invaded North Korea, both sides were actually very worried and had no confidence that they could defeat the Chinese army. After all, compared to them, the Han people's advantage was too great.

But what they didn't expect was that China would be uncharacteristically cruel to the middle and high-level officials of North Korea this time. This made both sides see the hope of defeating the Chinese army and occupying the peninsula.

Because there is no longer any need to worry that the landowning gentry everywhere will rebel.

As for the ordinary people, it is not important to them at all. What they value is the support and support of the various landowners and gentry.

It is true that in just one month, all the slightly powerful families on the peninsula have chosen to side with the Japanese and Jurchens. The rich have contributed money and the rich have provided help. Their determination has never been greater.

Therefore, after occupying most of Ping'an Road, the Chinese army's offensive became slow, and the resistance they encountered was extremely determined, but Huang Ben was not in a hurry.

He and His Majesty had long expected this situation.

Therefore, while consolidating the occupied territory and recruiting more ordinary young Koreans to attack the city, they also increased their propaganda to the ordinary people of the peninsula.

In fact, Lin Rui could also first win over the landlords and gentry, eliminate the Japanese and Jurchens, completely rule the peninsula, and then use the method of dividing the land among the local tyrants to clear out all the middle and high-level people.

In this way, we can definitely quickly defeat the Jurchens and the Japanese and occupy the peninsula. However, once this happens, we must first accept the submission of those powerful families, and then turn against them later, which will definitely damage the credibility of China.

This is extremely detrimental to China's future expansion of its territory and its acquisition of tributary countries. After all, except for East and Southeast Asia, Lin Rui still intends to adopt gentle methods and slowly educate others.

Therefore, the credibility and benevolence of the Great Kingdom cannot be lost. History has proven that barbaric colonization like the British is undesirable and cannot last long.Therefore, Lin Rui would rather go slower and be more troublesome than do the kind of thing where he would turn his back and refuse to admit his fault.

It's not necessary. The Heavenly Kingdom must have the structure and domineering power of the Heavenly Kingdom. The battle to destroy the country must be upright, justifiable, and well-founded, and there must be no conspiracy or shady collusion.

For example, when China sent troops to the peninsula this time, it was under the banner of annihilating the Jurchens and Japanese and rescuing the Korean people.

As for those middle and high-level officials, they were all accomplices of the Jurchens and the Japanese. Not only did they betray the Ming Dynasty and China, but now they also help the Japanese and the Jurchens to exploit and oppress ordinary people, which is equally unforgivable.

As for the Jurchens, the Japanese and the Chinese, they all have a deep hatred. Forgiving them is magnanimous, and destroying them is common sense. There is no such thing as bullying the weak.

With the Jurchens and Wo people joining forces, and with the support of powerful people from all over the country, the two sides fought hard on Huanghaidao and even fell into a stalemate.

When the news came back to the capital, scholars from all over the country began to criticize again, especially some great scholars who were idle at home and had nothing to do after they were full. They wrote to the emperor one after another to advise the emperor to educate the people everywhere with benevolence and not to use weapons without permission and go around blindly. campaign.

Obviously, in the eyes of those moral gurus, Lin Rui is a militant comparable to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. If this continues, the country of China will be tortured sooner or later.

After all, Dahua is already suspected of being a powerful military general, and it is dangerous enough for civil servants to have no involvement in military affairs. Now it is also sending troops to Mobei and North Korea at the same time, which is really worrying.

Not to mention that two simultaneous expeditions could easily bring down Dahua, which had just founded the country. Even if they won the battle in the end, it would easily cause the warriors to overdo their achievements and become arrogant and domineering, which would definitely do more harm than good.

After all, external battles are not as good as internal ones. Once the battle is won, the influence and status of the generals and generals will affect the long-term peace and stability of the country.

Therefore, in the view of those great scholars, there is no need to mobilize troops to conquer whether it is Mobei or North Korea.

Mobei only needs to send an envoy to make him surrender. Although North Korea is a little more complicated, it only needs to support a new king, or even directly canonize Nadorgon as the king of North Korea, and then let him drive away the Japanese. Just leave the peninsula and come to Korea every year.

Compared with scholars and civil servants, the senior staff members of the General Staff held the opposite attitude. They also wished that the emperor would fight everywhere. So when they saw that the Korean War had reached a stalemate, they all asked for war and expressed their willingness to lead reinforcements to serve the country. , be loyal to His Majesty.

However, Lin Rui had no idea of ​​sending reinforcements overland to the Northeast. If he really sent more than 20 to [-] troops to North Korea all the way overland, it would really waste people, money, and national power.

Anyway, he was not in a hurry. As long as Huang Ben did not suffer defeat, he could stay on the peninsula and wait for the arrival of the Southern Fleet to decide the outcome with the Korean navy.

Therefore, Lin Rui simply ignored the criticisms from scholars, the petitions from the great scholars, and the petitions from senior counselors.

Anyway, they are making trouble, but it will not affect the lives of ordinary people and the stability of provinces, prefectures and counties.

But if a civil servant with an official position dares to join in and make noise, it is absolutely unforgivable.

So when Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, and Shi Kefa came to the palace to ask for an audience and began to give advice, Lin Rui's face suddenly darkened.

One of the three is the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, one is the head of the Supervisory Council, and the other is the head of the court who was just appointed last fall. It can be said that they all hold high positions of power.

(End of this chapter)