Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 206: Eastern Expedition

In the new army camp of Tianjin, Li Rusong and Zhang Xiao walked side by side, each with their own thoughts.

"Mr. Zhang, who proposed the large-scale troop combat you just mentioned? Is there any book about it? I would like to read it carefully." Li Rusong hesitated for a long time before asking.

"This is just a new word created by Zhang. It may not be completely appropriate. The general meaning is that one can command an army of 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands. For example, famous generals like Bai Qi, Wang Jian, and Han Xin in ancient times were able to command so many people in battle."

"At present, the Ming Dynasty has not had a large-scale military operation for decades. Basically, each town has acted on its own, including the decades when the Earl of Ningyuan was stationed on the border. In recent years, there have been wars with the Toyotomi clan in Japan and Yang Yinglong in the southwest, but the Ming army in Korea did not exceed 100,000, and the various armies that went to suppress Yang Yinglong also went out on their own. So stick to my point of view. The court wants to rely on the strength of one town, or even two or three towns. It is not enough to solve the Mongolian problem. Now in the nine important towns on the border, all the generals rely on their servants to make achievements. If they go out of the border to attack the nest, or defend the city, they can fight back and forth with the various tribes outside the border, but if they want to seal the wolf's lair, it is far from enough. In the past, the King of Zhongshan and the Duke of Qi were defeated on the grassland, and the Duke of Qi was even more defeated. It is not so easy to succeed in the grassland conquest." Zhang Xiao explained.

"Of course I know that fighting on the grasslands is difficult, but I can't sleep or eat when I think of the shame of Tumubao. If it weren't for the tragic defeat that day, the border wouldn't be so turbulent. After so many years, the Ming Dynasty's prestige has not yet fully recovered."

"General Zimao, don't worry too much. Today, our Great Ming is thriving. I don't know how many powerful rulers have changed on the grasslands, and now it is even more torn apart. Not to mention compared with the prosperity of the Yuan Dynasty, it is also far worse than the remnant Yuan regime during the time of Taizu. As long as the Great Ming can improve its military and political affairs, it can still resist Buyan Khan's tens of thousands of troops."

"Having said that, my father has been trying for many years but has not yet succeeded. Now I am already in my sixties, and if I cannot make any achievements, I may not have another chance anymore," Li Rusong said with emotion.

"General Zimao is now training the new army in Tianjin, which is also a major matter for the court. As long as the new army is trained in Tianjin, whether it is marching north, south, or east, will General Zimao be afraid that he will not have any merits?" Zhang Xiao comforted.

"Tianjin is indeed an important place, with convenient sea and land routes. Going north is nothing more than dealing with the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes. What's the point of going east and south? Could it be that the court wants to conquer the Japanese mainland?"

"Oh? Why does General Zimao think that the Eastern Expedition is to attack Japan?"

"I brought back a lot of books from Korea during the Korean War. Later, I also found a lot of old files in the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery, and I learned that the Japanese pirates had been harassing for a long time. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, Japanese pirates attacked everywhere, from Liao in the north to Fujian and Zhejiang in the south. Later, Toyotomi unified Japan and did not pay tribute to our dynasty. If they just defended their homeland, our Celestial Empire would not blame them. But Toyotomi actually raised hundreds of thousands of troops and invaded across the sea. Although the Japanese have retreated and Toyotomi is dead, Japan's behavior will definitely be a big trouble for our dynasty in the future. It is better to conquer across the sea and eliminate the thieves' nest, so that the sea borders of the Ming Dynasty can be peaceful."

"General Zimao is very courageous. However, if General Zimao really wants to discuss such an important military matter, why not go to another place to talk?" Zhang Xiao suggested.

"Mr. Zhang, please follow me."

In this way, Li Rusong led the way and brought Zhang Xiao to the commander's barracks. Zhang Xiao looked carefully and saw a huge globe in the middle of the room. It was a gift from Zhang Xiao, but Zhang Xiao didn't expect Li Rusong to bring the globe with him. In addition to the globe, there were also maps of the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty, a map of the Liaodong region, and a map of the territory of Japan.

"Are these maps enough for Mr. Zhang? If you need any more maps, I will ask my men to find them for you." Li Rusong asked.

"That's enough. General Zimao still has the map of Japan's territory hanging up. If the princes of Japan knew that General Zimao still missed them, they would be terrified."

"That's what they deserved. It's a pity that Toyotomi Hideyoshi died too early, and the imperial court had to deal with other barbarians, so they hastily made peace with Japan. Otherwise, they would have thought of crossing the sea to attack Korea at that time."

"At that time, Yang Yinglong had already made some unusual moves, and the Mongolian Khans in the north were also restless, so it was a safer plan to withdraw the troops as soon as possible."

"I know that too, but I'm always unhappy that I haven't been able to achieve complete success. Mr. Zhang, you just mentioned the Eastern Expedition. East of the Ming Dynasty is all ocean, and Korea is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Doesn't that only leave Japan? It can't be America, right? It's across the ocean." Li Rusong looked at the map and thought for a while before asking.

"General Zimao, do you think it's too far? This is also an Eastern Expedition."

"Mr. Zhang is very courageous. As long as the imperial court orders me to go, I will go no matter how far away it is. General Ershi was not afraid of a long expedition, so there is no reason why I, Li Rusong, am not as good as General Ershi. But America is now occupied by the Portuguese. I heard that the Portuguese navy is also very powerful. America is also the territory of the Portuguese. If we fight there, I am afraid we will have to fight the Portuguese to the death."

"General Zimao, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was managing the Western Regions, he also sent Zhang Qian on a mission to investigate the situation before taking action. If the Ming Dynasty really wants to manage the West, it must also send envoys to investigate along the way. As for the Portuguese, although their navy is indeed powerful, their navy has suffered heavy losses in recent years, and their main force must be placed in Europe. There will definitely not be many navies that can appear around the Ming Dynasty. If the Portuguese make a desperate move and transfer the main navy from Europe, not to mention the losses along the way, then the enemies of the Portuguese in Europe will be very happy."

"Mr. Zhang, if you want to conquer America, you can also conquer Japan first. If you occupy Japan and then sail to America from Japan, it will be much more convenient." Li Rusong said as he gestured the distance from Hokkaido Island to North America.

"Japan is not that easy to deal with. Although Japan suffered a crushing defeat in Korea, its military strength was not completely lost, especially the military strength of the eastern lords headed by Tokugawa Ieyasu, which suffered basically no losses. If the Ming army rashly lands in Japan, I'm afraid it will suffer a lot of casualties. Moreover, the Japanese people are tough, and there are warriors with swords everywhere. Even ordinary civilians are not weak. Even if they can occupy the entire island, they can't get too much oil and water. Even if they can dig up some minerals, it will not be enough to make up for the losses." Zhang Xiao explained.

"Then according to Mr. Zhang, should we leave Japan alone now? If the princes of Japan fight each other, the Japanese pirates will be rampant. If they are unified, they will think of invading Korea. Such a small country has repeatedly offended the power of the Ming Dynasty. Li really can't swallow this breath."

(End of this chapter)