Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 173 Li Rubai’s inquiry
Yi Sunchen, who was mentioned by Zhang Xiao and Chen Lin about Cao Cao's arrival, also came to the military camp on the second day.

"Zhang Qinchen, I'm really sorry that such a murderer has appeared in North Korea. It has really ruined the image of our country," Yi Sunchen said to Zhang Xiao as soon as he came in.

"It doesn't matter, it's all a conspiracy of the Japanese country, aiming to sow discord between Ming Dynasty and North Korea. I won't be fooled by such tricks. Now that North Korea has found out the truth and punished the perpetrators, I don't think your majesty will do it because of this." What do you think about North Korea?" Zhang Xiao said.

"Thank you very much for your consideration, Zhang Qin. I'm really sorry for frightening Zhang Qin."

"General Ru Xie came here this time. He must have wanted to talk to General Chen about some important military affairs. General Chen's tent is right next to it. You can go and find him."

"No, Zhang Qincha, what I want to say, not only to General Chen, but also to you, Zhang Qincha. Zhang Qincha, you are the one who can speak well with the Ming Emperor. I have something to say to you. ”

"If my colleagues hear what General Ru Xie said, they will put me on the fire."

"I'm really sorry, Li made a mistake."

"It doesn't matter. Since I also want to listen, I will also call Yang Jinglue and General Zizhen together."

In this way, Zhang Xiao ordered his followers to find Yang Hao, Li Rubai and General Chen Lin.

In this way, Yi Sun-shin left with satisfaction.

"It is indeed true. On that day, our navy made a surprise attack on the Japanese army and almost wiped out the entire army. That's why the Japanese army landed wantonly. In just a few dozen days, most of our country's thousands of miles of rivers and mountains were lost."

"Our two armies unite on Tsushima Island. If possible, we can go to the coast of Japan. After all, Japan is so bold this time and dares to attack the imperial envoy. I don't dare to think about anything next time. If there is no movement, Doesn’t it encourage Japan’s arrogance?”

"That's not the case. The so-called joint fleet is actually just for the convenience of coordinated command. After all, the navy and the army are different. The army can fight independently. The navy, in addition to being forced to fight guerrillas, has to fight the main force of the enemy in a decisive battle. One battle will determine the outcome. If you win, you have everything. If you lose, you won't be able to recover for ten or eight years, and the country will probably fall. "General Ru Xie, you should know this."

"That's really what I thought."

"General Ru Xie, facts have proven that North Korea's naval power alone is not enough to defend North Korea. In fact, the Japanese navy is not that strong. The Japanese naval commander Jiugui Jialong is a water pirate. The ships don’t have any decent main battleships. So what if other more powerful navy, such as the navy of the Folangji Kingdom, invade North Korea, right? This is also to better defend North Korea. "

"Everyone, General Ru Xie of North Korea has important matters to discuss, so I called you all to come and listen together. General Ru Xie, just say what you want to say. But we can't agree to everything. If This matter is of great importance, and we also need to ask for your Majesty's instructions. Please understand," Zhang Xiao said.

"Zhang Qin has this idea, so of course I will strongly support it. But I still need to inform the king to see what the king wants."

When the rest of the people in the tent were about to say goodbye, Zhang Xiao said, "Everyone, it's rare for us to get together, so we might as well discuss some things."

"Zhang Zhan, is there anything we need to discuss?" Li Rubai asked.

"Oh? What do Zhang Qinqi think?"

"Does Commissioner Zhang really think so?"

"General Ru Xie, now the two armies can launch a joint operation. I wonder if General Li has any ideas?" Zhang Xiao said.

"There are currently more than 3,000 soldiers left in Zhejiang. After General Wu was injured and returned home to recuperate, General Luo is now in charge. General Luo has a pretty good relationship with North Korea, and he also taught martial arts to North Korean soldiers. We are getting along well with the Korean people. After Zhang Zhan's accident, General Luo was immediately alert. None of the three thousand Zhejiang soldiers were separated, and everything was as usual in the Zhejiang army camp. "

"Thank you, General Chen, for allowing me to think about it carefully." Yi Sunchen said solemnly.

"It's natural. I came here because I heard that Ming Dynasty was going to form some kind of joint fleet with our country. What kind of joint law is this? I really want to find out what's going on. Most of the Korean navy has been annihilated by the Japanese country before. Finally, he has recovered a little, and it is all under my command, so he has to ask about this matter, otherwise Li will not be able to sleep well," Yi Sun-shin explained.

"Ru Xie, you can only command some small ships in the Korean army. Although the turtle ship you built is interesting, it cannot sail long distances and is not interesting. When the joint fleet is formed, you can be my deputy. Yes. Command the big ship. Don't you want to deal with the Japanese country? If there is another war, it will not be enough to rely on the small ships of Korea. It will be better to rely on the big ships." Chen Lin also issued an invitation from the side.

"General Zizhen, how was your previous contact with the Zhejiang soldiers left behind? Now that the Ming Navy has arrived, it's time to leave the camp to see them."

"In this case, after so many days, let's go for a walk. Let's go to the Zhejiang Army camp first. If North Korea wants to talk to us, they will naturally send people over."

In this way, Zhang Xiao and Chen Lin led the five hundred sergeants out of the camp and went straight to the Zhejiang Army camp. Li Rubai then sat in the military camp.

When they arrived at the gate of the Zhejiang Army camp, Luo Shangzhi had already greeted them at the camp gate because they had been notified beforehand. The group entered the Zhejiang Army camp smoothly. "Zhang Zhanshi, after hearing what happened to you in the North Korean palace, Luo immediately put the military camp on alert. Originally he wanted to visit Zhang Zhanshi, but then he received an order from General Zizhen, telling me to stick to the camp and not go out. , so Luo has not left the city even half a step in the past few decades," Luo Shangzhi explained.

"What is the situation in the camp now and what is the morale of the soldiers? There is no need to say anything. If you have anything to say, just say it. Now that General Chen has led the main force of the imperial navy to North Korea, even if there are young men, they don't dare to do anything without permission." Zhang Xiao said.

"General Luo, I know that most of the sergeants under your command are from Zhejiang, so this time the army went out, they also brought some Jinhua ham, and this time they also brought some to be delivered to you." Chen Lin said.

"Oh? There is also Jinhua ham. Thank you General Chen. To be honest, we in North Korea are barely full, and we are always short of oil and salt. North Korea is indeed poor, and ordinary people are already poor. After this Due to the war, many people are still digging wild vegetables to make ends meet. It is only those two classes of nobles who can eat rice every day. Fortunately, there are potatoes, corns, and sweet potato seeds left by Zhang Zhanshi. Now they can eat enough. Domestic supplies are coming less and less, and wages are in arrears for half a year," Luo Shangzhi said.

"The salary is owed for half a year?" Zhang Xiao was also a little surprised.

"Yes, after the war, the imperial court gave out a few paychecks at first, but then there was no more. If it weren't for reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land, it would be difficult to have enough food now. Now the soldiers still abide by military orders. I did complain privately, saying that since the rest of the army had returned to China to collect their rewards, we, the Zhejiang soldiers, were left here for how long. After all, the Japanese country was in civil war again, so it would be difficult for them to invade Korea in large numbers. The soldiers all wanted to get their back pay as soon as possible and then know the exact news of the withdrawal. So after Zhang Zhanshi and your group arrived, the soldiers were very excited and thought they could go back soon. "

"I didn't expect that something like this would happen again."

"Yes, the officers and soldiers were very angry when they heard that what happened to Zhang Zhanshi was at the banquet. However, many officers and soldiers were also worried that their stay in North Korea would be extended again."

"This can't happen. The reason why the Zhejiang soldiers were left behind before is because they are good at fighting and defending. If there is a small group of Japanese pirates, they can deal with them easily. If the Japanese really don't know how to live or die, they can still hold on with only four thousand Zhejiang soldiers. Hold on to Seoul and prevent the war from ruining. Now that the imperial army and land forces have arrived, and the Japanese country has been divided into east and west forces, the Korean country should be safe now, and the Zhejiang army can naturally withdraw. However. Has General Luo thought about the future of the Zhejiang Army? After all, the Zhejiang Army will only be able to select a small number of elites to stay in the Beijing camp. Now that the imperial court is training new troops, the Beijing camp may also be gradually reduced in the future. "

"Of course Luo has thought about it, but Luo has little knowledge and can't think of any good solutions. I wonder what Zhang Zhan has in mind?"

"It's not really an idea, just a suggestion. In fact, Zhejiang soldiers have dealt with Japanese pirates a lot, and there are more people who are good at using firearms. You can try to recruit new troops. If there are people who are good at water and have gone to sea, you can also consider joining the water force. Division. This time when the Japanese invaded, the imperial court also realized that the navy was insufficient. Previously, the navy was being expanded in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Although now that the war is over, some ships that have not had time to start construction will not be built again, but the navy There will always be some expansion, which is also a way out for the soldiers of the Zhejiang Army.”

"I have already written down Zhang Zhanshi's suggestions, but Luo still has to ask if the brothers have any opinions. Thank you very much to Zhang Zhanshi for taking the trouble."

"You're welcome. The victory in the Korean War was due to the Zhejiang Army's contribution. Zhang will never be biased or turn a blind eye."

After returning from the Zhejiang Army camp, Zhang Xiao was relieved. After all, he visited the Zhejiang Army camp. It is not that easy to keep the military formation neat and orderly even if the pay is owed for several months. This is already a long time. A pretty good army. Of course, Zhang Xiao also decided to go back and quickly report to the court about the unpaid wages. He had to ask people to make up for the payment before returning to China, so that everyone could return home with peace of mind.

However, not long after Zhang Xiaogang came back, he received news that Li Rubai had something to discuss with him.

"About Zhang Zhan, Li has some things that he can't understand and wants to ask for advice." Li Rubai said.

"General Zizhen, please speak." Although Zhang Xiao was a little surprised that Li Rubai came to him so suddenly, he still said politely.

"Now that the Jianzhou Ministry is getting stronger, the imperial court must be trying to suppress the Jianzhou Ministry. Now Zhang Zhanshi, you and Shuerhaqi have made various promises. Does the imperial court want to support Shuerhaqi and want the second dragon of the Jianzhou Ministry? Fight together?"

"Is this what General Zizhen thinks about? In fact, General Zizhen, since you can say these words, you naturally know what you are doing, so why bother to ask more questions. Isn't this what the imperial court has always done when it comes to the disintegration of Jurchen parts? Even Uncle Ning Yuan did this."

"If that's the case, then if Shuerhaqi wants to send his daughter as my concubine, the court must be happy to see it happen. But I still can't believe it. Nurhachi also used to be a member of our Liaodong Army. I really don’t see how capable he is.”

"General Zizhen, hasn't Nurhachi been able to defeat the nine coalition forces now? Now it is difficult for the Jurchen tribes to compete with him for hegemony. Buyan Khan will not have time to cross the border of Liaodong to fight against Nurhaci in the deep mountains and forests. The court is now It is impossible to start a war with a capable and obedient Shunyi like Nurhachi without any reason. Therefore, as long as Nurhachi is not openly hostile to the court, no one can check and balance him. In this case, the court can only do it from within the Jianzhou Department. Take action."

"Is the court's strategy feasible?"

"I can't say whether the court's strategy is feasible. I can only say that it depends on the strength of the court. As long as the army in Liaodong Town is still strong enough, Nurhachi will be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. If the Liaodong Army declines, the court will not have a strong army. With the support of the Central Army, even without the Jianzhou Department, there would still be other Mongolian tribes or Jurchen tribes that would challenge the Ming Dynasty's northeastern hegemony. Didn't Toyotomi Hideyoshi already challenge him? But he just lost. How much trouble it has brought to Ming Dynasty. But with such a challenger, won’t there be another challenger?”

"I didn't expect Zhang Zhanshi's estimate of the world's situation to be so serious."

"It is normal for countries to strive for strength. If the Central Plains Dynasty does not cultivate virtue and its armaments are weakened, the barbarians will rise up and compete for strength. Although the court defeated the Japanese country this time, it is not enough. If the navy were stronger, We should take the Osaka Castle of Japan and completely destroy the Toyotomi regime in order to deter the Japanese. Even though the Japanese have lost, they still dare to invade as long as they find the opportunity. But now the civil war is delayed. , If the Japanese country is reunited, there is no guarantee that they will no longer have aggressive ambitions," Zhang Xiao explained. Although Zhang Xiao knows that according to the development of the original time and space, the Tokugawa shogunate has been honest for more than two hundred years and has taken no other measures except secretly occupying Ryukyu, but it does not prevent Zhang Xiao from making the situation more serious now.

"Is that why, Zhang Zhanshi, you suggested that the imperial court station troops in North Korea to help North Korea organize and train its army, so as to deter Japan and the Jurchen tribes?" Li Rubai asked.

"Yes, but it is actually a deterrent to North Korea. If North Korea had honestly made things clear to His Majesty from the beginning and sent troops to help earlier, North Korea would not have suffered such heavy losses. So what were the monarchs and ministers of North Korea thinking at that time? It's hard to say, but as long as the imperial army is stationed here, it doesn't matter what kind of thoughts you have." Zhang Xiao explained.

(End of this chapter)