Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Just as Hong Chengchou and others were preparing for next year's war, the Korean king and his ministers also received the news.

Today, after the war last year, Korea has completely become dependent on the Ming Dynasty. Hong Chengchou, the Korean Prime Minister, holds the position of Prime Minister in Korea.

Some Koreans were unwilling to accept this, but the Korean nobles who received the title of Ming Dynasty were very supportive of it.

They need the protection of the Ming Dynasty to maintain their wealth and status.

Even the King of Korea, who was recognized as the legitimate ruler by the Ming Dynasty and received help from the Ming army to expel the Jianlu, accepted this matter.

It's just that he occasionally does some small things because of the anxiety about losing power.

After learning that the Ming Dynasty and the Jianlu were about to have a war, some officials proposed not to get involved in the dispute between the two sides. Some even believed that North Korea could benefit from it:
"The conquest of the Jianlu is the Ming Dynasty's own business and has nothing to do with Korea."

"Your Majesty must not be deceived by Hong Chengchou and send troops to attack the Jianlu."

The Joseon King Yi Jong, who was later honored as King Injo, was a bit soft-hearted. He hesitated when he heard the minister's suggestion.

When Jin Zidian saw this, he immediately rebuked:

"absurd!"

"Korea is a vassal of the Ming Dynasty and should serve the Ming Dynasty."

"What's more, the Jianlu have been poisoning Korea and are our eternal enemies."

"Now that the Ming Dynasty is conquering the Jianlu, how can Korea stay out of it?"

"I think you are not loyal to Ming Dynasty or Korea."

"Did you accept the gift from the Jianlu and want to surrender to them?"

He was a hero in the Guihai Restoration and was conferred a title by the Ming Dynasty. He and the Zhao family, from which Zhao Guiren was born, divided Gyeongsang Province. Of course, he had to consider the Ming Dynasty.

Li Zong, who was a meritorious and loyal minister, was also very dependent on him. After hearing these words, he was inclined to this proposal.

Another faction, the Qingxi faction, which did not participate in the rebellion but considered itself noble, also supported sending troops. The leader of the Qingxi faction, Jin Shangxian, said:

"Cheng Zi said: If you lose your propriety once, you will become a barbarian; if you lose it twice, you will become a beast."

"Joseon and Ming have already agreed on etiquette, how can we be disrespectful for no reason?"

"How is that different from an animal? How can you stay in the Chinese world?"

"Guan Zhong said: The Rong and Di are wolves, so they should not be disliked; the Chinese are close friends, so they should not be abandoned."

"Korea is the descendant of Jizi and belongs to the same empire as the Ming Dynasty. We should follow the Ming Dynasty and conquer the barbarians."

This was the theory promoted in Korea by the Jinyiwei who sent people to publish newspapers after Korea surrendered to the country.

In this theory, Korea is the descendant of Jizi and is part of the Chinese nation. Although it is different from the Central Plains, it is still part of the Chinese nation.

The Ming Dynasty also regarded Korea as its closest vassal state, ranking it first among its internal and external vassal states.

This gives great psychological satisfaction to some North Koreans, who believe that North Korea is not only a small China, but also a member of the Chinese nation.

The Confucian scholars of Korea were even more excited about this, and they always defended themselves against the barbarians. They valued this more than the Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty.

They want to use this attitude to distinguish themselves from the barbarians.

Kim Sang-hyeon, who prided himself on being upright and honest, and a Confucian official, naturally accepted this view, believing that Korea should advance and retreat with the Ming Dynasty, rather than cut itself off from the rest of the world.

Both factions held the same opinion, and Li Jong immediately realized that he could not go against the majority opinion. Moreover, at this time, Jin Zidian mentioned something that forced him to express his opinion immediately.

I only heard Jin Zidian say:

"Gwanghaegun didn't understand this and sent his troops to Liaodong to be indecisive."

"That's why your Majesty rebelled and was recognized by the Ming Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, please do not repeat the same mistake and become another Gwanghaegun." This shocked Li Jong, and he had to say immediately:
"I am naturally loyal to Ming and will not follow the example of Gwanghaegun."

"Korea must cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to attack the Jianlu and avenge the shame of the Dingmao and Jisi Rebellions."

"Please ask Governor Hong to return to the court to serve as the Grand Marshal and take full responsibility for this matter."

This position was previously held by Hong Chengchou, but after the end of the Ji Si War, he naturally resigned.

Now that Li Zong has let Hong Chengchou take up this position again, he is demonstrating his loyalty.

Another point is that he was worried that if he did not appoint the person now, the Ming Dynasty might make demands or even let Korean officials such as Kim Ji-jeom take up the position, which would be a greater threat to him.

After all, Hong Chengchou is a minister of the Ming Dynasty and has a term limit, so he will leave when the time comes.

North Korean officials will remain in North Korea forever, and if they become too powerful they will become a hidden danger.

Therefore, Li Zong would rather employ Hong Chengchou than his own ministers.

This result was exactly what Hong Chengchou had expected; in fact, the current situation was partly due to his planning.

When Liu Xingzuo and others heard the news that Hong Chengchou was reinstated as the Marshal of the Korean Provinces, they immediately congratulated him:
"Marshal, now that the situation has been decided, you can rest assured and prepare for the war."

"We will certainly die for you and help you achieve great feats."

Hong Chengchou also had a look of joy on his face, and couldn't help but said with a smile:

"It's not about making achievements for me, but about making achievements together."

"But the Korean army is still a little weak. During the Imjin War, the Japanese army seemed to be more powerful."

"Japan should be asked to send troops to participate in this war."

Hong Chengchou had high hopes for this battle and wanted to use it as a stepping stone to advancement.

Because he guessed that regardless of whether he won or lost the battle, Sun Chengzong might leave office.

By then, the Liaodong governor will certainly be selected from among the civil officials, and he is one of those who are qualified to be the governor.

However, compared with Zhu Xieyuan and Sun Chuanting, his advantage was not great. If he wanted to become the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, he had to make great contributions in the Xinwei War.

To this end, he not only wanted to mobilize North Korea's forces, but also wanted to mobilize Japan and get them involved in this war.

Liu Xingzuo and others had participated in the Battle of Beihai Island and fought against the Matsumae clan of Japan. Liu Xingzuo said:

"The Japanese are braver and more courageous than the Koreans."

"Even the most elite musketeers in North Korea actually learned from the Japanese."

"I think we can ask the Edo Shogunate to dispatch troops for the Andong Protectorate to deploy."

The reason why it is called Andong Protectorate is not only because the army directly under Andong Protectorate is now under his control, but also because Korea does not want the Japanese army to come.

Last year, the Japanese musketeers recruited by Jiang Yueguang were refused entry by the Korean monarch and his ministers. The situation this year and next year will be less critical than last year, so the Korean monarch and his ministers will naturally be even more unwilling.

Even Hong Chengchou could not force the Korean monarch and his ministers on this point, because even if he was the prime minister of Korea, he could not always get everything he wanted.

Thinking of Jiang Yueguang who was in charge of Japanese affairs, Hong Chengchou said:
"This matter is a bit difficult to handle now!"

"The Jiangnan County Examination has been postponed. I don't know when Jiang Hanlin will come back."

"How can the Japanese army be mobilized without the participation of an envoy like him?"

Jiang Yueguang was an official of the Hanlin Academy, and his mission to Japan was a part-time job. And because he did a good job in this matter, he was sent by the emperor to preside over the Jiangnan Provincial Examination.

After Zhang Pu caused trouble, the Jiangnan provincial examination was postponed, and he, the chief examiner of the Mingjing exam, has not returned yet. (End of this chapter)