Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 88: When the troops are used, they will hate the few

The next day.

In the imperial study, the emperor looked at the majestic General Li Rusong standing below.

"Rusong, I have decided to appoint you as the admiral of the Ji, Liao, Baoding, and Shandong armies for the Eastern Expedition. You must take up the post of admiral of the Eastern Expedition. All frontline generals are under your control." The emperor got straight to the point. said.

"I must fight bravely to kill the enemy to repay Your Majesty's kindness. If the Japanese don't evacuate North Korea for a day, Rusong will never return home." Li Rusong said.

"Things happened in a hurry. Originally, the imperial court wanted to mobilize the Western troops and the armies in the south. But Rusongqian also knew that the northwest frontier was not peaceful now. The chieftains such as Yang Yinglong in the south were not convinced by the king and were ready to move, and the imperial court had not yet made a decision. Determined to mobilize the troops from these two places to Beijing. Although the decree has been issued, these two groups of troops have not arrived so quickly. Now I can only give you 50,000 troops. The Liaodong Army still needs to prepare for war to defend the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes, and I have ordered the Liaodong Army to send a unit to North Korea first. As for the Liaodong Army, you will discuss with Dong Zongbing to see if you can provide some more support. After you arrive in North Korea, work together with the North Korean monarchs and ministers to fight back the Japanese. The imperial reinforcements will arrive one after another, but they may not be that fast," the emperor said.

"Your Majesty, as long as I have the Liaodong Iron Cavalry as a guard, an army of fifty thousand is enough. I just don't know which minister in the DPRK will be the commander-in-chief of this aid to the DPRK?" Li Rusong asked.

"Rusong, please read this memorial." The emperor pointed to the memorial on the table. Chen Ju picked it up and handed it to Li Rusong.

"Guan Bai's picture of North Korea means China. I save North Korea, not just as a vassal state. If North Korea is solid, the east will protect Liaodong, and the capital will be consolidated on Mount Tai... Is this written by Song Shilang of the Ministry of War? These are all words of gold and jade. , I also think so, how can I allow others to snore on the side of the bed? This Toyotomi Hideyoshi is so arrogant and dares to offend my Ming Dynasty. I must capture him alive and hand him over to His Majesty for punishment." Li Rusong said.

"So I have decided to let Song Yingchang, the Minister of War, be the manager. You must work together with Song Yingchang to show my great power tomorrow. But Toyotomi Hideyoshi, you can't touch him for the time being. According to the report from the front, this time the invasion In Korea, Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not go to war in person, but only sent his trusted generals to fight. You kill and capture a few Japanese generals on the battlefield. On the day of your triumphant return, Ru Song, I will personally lead the civil and military ministers to You take the wind and wash away the dust," the emperor said.

"I am determined to wipe out the Japanese army, capture the enemy chieftains, and offer them as prisoners to Your Majesty," Li Rusong said.

"Your brothers Li Rubai and Li Rumei, I will also ask the Ministry of War to give them officers and let them lead their troops to conquer with you. Your father Ning Yuanbo was a powerful Jurchen in Mongolia back then. This time you will go to the Ming Dynasty to conquer me." The prestige of the army was brought out so that the Japanese could feel the power of the imperial court," the emperor said.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty as if I were a cypress or a plum blossom." Li Rusong said.

Li Rusong was ordered to retire, and only the emperor and Chen Ju were left in the study.

"Chen Ju, look at this small Japanese country, which sent an army of hundreds of thousands. Our Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, a large population, and countless good generals. Now we have to deal with the Japanese country and only then can we send an army of 50,000. How can I explain to my ancestors when I go to the Ancestral Temple? ." The emperor said as he gently poked and tapped Japan on the globe.

Chen Ju remained silent beside him. "That's all, it's hard for you to ask this question. However, among the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops, have you found out who is the leader, how many groups of troops they are divided into, and who will lead each group of troops?" the emperor asked. .

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the latest information, the Japanese army is divided into nine legions. Each legion has a different number of people, roughly twenty to thirty thousand people. I don't know who the leader is. Each legion seems to be acting independently. I only know that the current attack At the front is the First Army Corps, whose leader is Konishi Yukōchō. There is also the Second Army Corps, whose leader is Kato Kiyomasa. The leaders of the other legions have not yet been clarified. The Japanese army is unstoppable in North Korea, and the North Korean army has no It can prevent the Japanese army from moving north," Chen Ju said.

"Chen Ju, I am very disappointed with the performance of the factory guards this time. Up to now, I still have only a partial understanding of the enemy's situation. If this army enters the DPRK, how can we support it? What if it is true as Zhang Xiao said, DPRK If it collapses in a month, then who will provide the logistics for my army entering the DPRK? This will be dangerous," the emperor said.

"I have neglected my duties as a factory guard. Please deal with it, Your Majesty." Chen Ju quickly apologized.

"That's all, I can only say that it's not too late to remedy the situation. You need to send more people to various places, not just within the Ming Dynasty, but also in the outer vassals and inner vassals. You can even entrust people to investigate Fo Langji. After all, if Toyotomi Hideyoshi dared to be so arrogant this time, it is hard to say if it was because of the support of the Folangji people behind him. But the most important thing now is that you need to send more people to Mongolia, Liaodong, North Korea, and Japan. Over there, you can also think of a way to send someone there." The emperor ordered.

"After receiving the decree, the minister must handle the errands properly." Chen Ju said.

"In this Beijing Camp, the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Office usually give me perfunctory prevarications, saying that they have been reorganized many times and have been reorganized. Now that the war is about to begin, we can no longer hide it. This Beijing Camp is known as 200,000 people. , now there are not even 100,000 soldiers available, not even 50,000, and I don’t know how many people are living on empty wages. If the Mongolian army invades, what should I do? The capital camp has been reorganized since the late emperor, but what can I do? I've been rectifying it over and over again, but why is it still getting worse?" the emperor said.

"Your Majesty, why don't you, minister, go and investigate a few people who are taking advantage of free money to get kickbacks, as a warning to others?" Chen Ju was quiet for a while before speaking.

"Forget it, it's all about treating the symptoms rather than the root cause. The incident at Chang'an Gate has not been over for long, and now it is the time for the imperial court to employ people. If we do this now, we will not only disturb the morale of the army," the emperor said.

"I hope your majesty will forgive me for my shallow thinking," Chen Ju said.

"Have you read the Ottoman chapter written by Zhang Xiao before? Take a look, what if I, the Ming Dynasty, also learned to form a new imperial guard army?" the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, Tumubao was defeated and the Beijing camp suffered heavy casualties. When Yu Shaobao was ordered to face the danger, he also recruited strong men and even incorporated the elites of the local army to form a regiment camp. But later, under Emperor Wu Zong, the combat strength of the regiment camp It's also rotten. How long can this combat power be maintained when a new battalion is recruited? And if a new army is formed, how will the 200,000 people in the Beijing camp be arranged? Moreover, there is no money and food to recruit new troops and reorganize the Beijing camp. Ah." Chen Ju replied.

"I'm not saying we're going to do it now. Can you help me come up with a charter? How come after so many years since I've been on the throne, the money and food received by the court have become less and less? Where have all the money and food gone? I want to open a mine, and the cabinet The other side doesn’t agree. Then find some ways for me to open up more money." The emperor said helplessly.

(End of this chapter)