The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

"Then what are we waiting for here?"

“Wait until their morale drops, wait until they take the initiative to negotiate peace.” Li Song glanced at Pan Yu and said, “Do you really want to use the lives of my Ming soldiers to fill the gap? If Li Tao wants to fight me, I don’t care; he can send the Korean army. But if he wants me to use the Liaodong army to fill the gap, no way.”

Pan Yu seemed to be deep in thought.

Li Songdao said, "Our goal is to drive out the Japanese pirates and restore Korean territory, not to risk our lives."

Having learned his lesson, Pan Yu could only suppress his eagerness to go home and join Li Song in surrounding them.

Encircle them without attacking; this is to force them to leave the sea and land.

"After paying such a high price, are we just going to return empty-handed?" Hosokawa Mochiyo slammed his hand down in anger, smashing the table in front of him to pieces. He was unwilling to go home like this.

Tayama Genichi hesitated, then, under the watchful eyes of his subordinates, mustered his courage and stepped forward, whispering, "General, there's still no news of the Grand General. I fear he's in grave danger. The soldiers' morale is low. With the Ming Dynasty's assistance, if we continue fighting, I'm afraid..."

Hosokawa Mochiyoshi clenched his fist. "Gather all the cannons."

His eyes flickered slightly, as if he had made up his mind: "The Ming Dynasty will definitely be reluctant to invest too many troops here. As long as we inflict a major defeat on them, they will be discouraged and leave. Korea is nothing to fear. As long as the Ming Dynasty doesn't get involved, this land will belong to us!"

"Offending the Ming Dynasty like this, what if they become enraged..." Tian Shanyuan whispered, "Right now they're only besieging without attacking, but what if..."

Hosokawa Mochiyoshi kicked over the chair beside him and said angrily, "How can we ever bring glory to the Yamato people if we are so timid and cowardly?"

With a determined look on his face, he asserted, "The Ming Dynasty would never dare to fight us to the death. There are many Ming soldiers and Han people stationed in Dasen Township and Qiwei Port. Once the two countries go to war, all those people will be our hostages."

He walked to the window, pointed to the north, and said, "Look, they dare not take another step forward now. They are surrounding them but not attacking, which shows that they are afraid to harm the innocent."

Tayama Genichi thought to himself: Who would compare themselves to a rat?
Moreover, he had no confidence in winning the war. The Ming army and Han Chinese in Omori and Nanao Port were not unarmed Chinese. Three years ago, the shogunate took advantage of the change of regime in the Ming Dynasty and the instability of the new emperor's position to launch an attack on the Ming Dynasty. Two of these armies went to Nanao Port and Omori.

They suffered heavy losses. Not only did they fail to recapture the two ports and Omori Village, but they also lost a lot of land. In the end, the Ming army either returned the land or gave it to the local daimyo and landlords. The shogunate then pinned the whole thing on the ronin pirates, and that was the end of the matter.

So, can they really use the Han Chinese from Omori Township and Nanao Port as hostages?

With the pro-peace and pro-war sides deadlocked, they both crowded into the Busan area.

At this moment, an envoy from Japan ordered Hosokawa Mochiyoshi to withdraw his troops and return home to negotiate peace with Korea.

Two Imperial Guards accompanied the Japanese envoy; they went directly through the Japanese army to find Li Song outside the defensive line.

"Peace talks?" Li Song looked at them in surprise: "Japan agreed?"

"Yes, it was personally ordered by the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshikatsu. The Imperial Court instructed you not to attack, so as not to escalate the conflict."

Pan Yu frowned and said, "Ashikaga Yoshikatsu is just a puppet. Can he really make decisions?"

The Imperial Guard said, "He wants to use the Ming Dynasty to subdue domestic forces, and neither the commander Hosokawa Mochitsugu nor Tayama Mochikuni dared to refuse."

Pan Yu looked at Li Song.

Li Song frowned, tapped his knee with his finger, and remained silent for a while before saying, "Alright, if we can end the war through peace talks and reduce casualties among our soldiers, we will naturally agree. Here's what we'll do: I'll take you to see the King of Joseon. He has already moved back to Seoul."

Although Li Tao wished he could kill all the Japanese soldiers, he knew he didn't have the ability to do so. If he relied on the Ming Dynasty, the Ming soldiers would suffer heavy losses in the desperate battle against the Japanese. Therefore, peace talks were the best solution.

Li Tao agreed.

Therefore, the Joseon Dynasty sent an envoy, and Li Song also selected two military officers from the army who were fluent in Japanese and Korean to accompany him, along with two members of the Imperial Guard, to negotiate peace.

Pan Yu stood on the high ground, hands on his hips, watching them enter Busan City, and sneered: "General, do you really think peace talks can be concluded?"

“When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor’s orders,” Li Song said. “Besides, Ashikaga Yoshikatsu is just a puppet. It’s impossible to mobilize these two large armies to obey him based solely on his orders.”

Pan Yu: "They have been waiting for so long without fleeing, they are unwilling to give up. I think we still have to fight this battle, fight it hard. Only when we really hurt them will they know that our Great Ming is not easy to bully."

Li Song looked up at the sun, counted on his fingers, and then laughed, "It'll be here soon, just wait a little longer."

"What are you waiting for?"

Li Song: "You'll understand when the time is right. Since they want to talk, let them try. We can't lead a large army to attack the city now. Busan isn't easy to conquer; many people will die."

Pan Yu lowered his eyes in thought.

Now that the three remaining Japanese armies have gathered here, with the largest and best numbers and weapons, it is indeed difficult to attack them as they are holding the city and not coming out.

They are difficult to defeat because they have been driven to the brink of defeat, their morale has rebounded in desperation, and they are difficult to surround on three sides...

Pan Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully. If the city gate could be opened from the inside, it would be much easier to attack.

He stared silently at the city not far away, and when he returned, he asked the locals for information.

The walls of North Korea are not very high, and the distinction between the city walls and the outer walls is obvious. He knew that taxes were required to enter and leave the city. He believed that some of the poor people must know a way to enter the city without going through the city gates.

While Pan Yu was busy, the envoys negotiating in Busan were attacked. Hosokawa Mochi was unwilling to negotiate and did not even show his face.

If it weren't for Tayama Genichi leading troops to protect them, Hosokawa Mochiyoshi would have wanted to kill the Korean envoy.

Unfortunately, the Ming military officer and two Imperial Guards who came with them firmly protected the Korean envoys, and Tayama Genichi forbade Hosokawa from harming the Ming people, so the envoys escaped a disaster.

The delegation was furious, and the two Imperial Guards from Japan also looked puzzled: "The Japanese are so arrogant here, but they are very humble in front of Lord Kuang."

“That’s all just a facade!” the Korean envoy shouted. “Your Excellency, you must not believe them. The Japanese are cunning and vicious; their humility is all an act.”

The Imperial Guard frowned.

They do not want to fight; if the war escalates, it will also affect Omori Township and Nanao Port.

This year, mineral exploration in Dasen Township has made further progress. Most remarkably, Lord Kuang and his craftsmen have developed a new quenching method. This method yields a higher silver yield and a higher silver content, making the silver truly as white as snowflakes. Once stamped with the official seal and sent back to the Ming Dynasty, the value of a single ingot of silver skyrocketed.

Moreover, not only were the silver mines profitable, but the two ports were also very profitable, especially the Seven Tail Port.

It is a mature port with sufficient throughput. In the past two years, they have expanded it, and countless merchant ships dock at the port every year. In addition to merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty, there are also many foreign merchant ships. The silver they earn is almost as much as the silver mines they dig in the mountains.

This year alone, in June, Dasen Township had already shipped four boatloads of silver back to Quanzhou Port.

Now that Tianjin Port is fully open and the pirates on the shipping routes have been mostly eliminated, starting in the second half of the year, silver will be transported directly to Tianjin Port. Silver entering Beijing from Tianjin Port will suffer less loss.

Lord Kuang said that it was precisely because of the silver mine of Dasen Township that the imperial court was able to do so many things. The radios, cannons, and warships that were continuously sent from the country were all built with silver.

If they want to continue mining silver and earning tariffs from the two ports, then Japan and the coastal areas must be free from war.

Otherwise, once war breaks out, which merchant ship would be so stubborn as to head towards the battlefield?

The Imperial Guard said with a grim face, "We must negotiate. We will negotiate whether we can reach an agreement or not!"

“That’s right,” said Officer A. “Our general said the same thing. They’re unwilling to talk now, so let’s fight until they’re willing to talk!”

Imperial Guard: "...That's not what I meant."

But no one listened to him. The Korean envoy thought that Military Officer A was right and excitedly slapped his thigh, saying, "I want to present a letter to the King and conscript soldiers, all of whom will be under the command of General Li and General Pan."

Military Officer A was pleased to hear this and put his arm around General Li's shoulder, saying, "Good, I will also write to General Li and persuade him to continue attacking the Japanese army."

Embroidered Uniform Guard: ...

Both sides wrote a letter, but before they could send it out, several cannon shots rang out, making people's ears hurt.

The delegation was startled and rushed out to see what was happening. They saw three ships in the distance on the sea, with a cannon on one ship, adorned with a red ribbon, firing at Busan Harbor.

They could clearly see the shells ejected, arriving in the blink of an eye. With a deafening roar, a massive waterfall of water exploded, their ears rang, their hearts pounded, the ground shook, and their calves went numb...

Imperial Guard: "This is..."

Military officer: "These are our cannons!"

The North Korean envoy was dumbfounded, clutching his chest and speechless for a long time.

Hosokawa Mochiyoshi and Tayama Genichi stumbled over with their men and witnessed the power of the shell as well. Like the Korean envoy, they were speechless for a long time.

The two military officers and two Imperial Guards raised their chins, arrogantly glancing sideways at the group, and said haughtily, "Hosokawa Mochiyoshi, we'll give you one night to think about the peace talks. If there's no response by noon tomorrow, our Great Ming will consider it a provocation, and the war will continue!"

The North Korean envoy jumped up behind them, pointed at their noses, and shouted, "Consider this a provocation!"

The military officer snorted and turned to leave, while the Imperial Guards glanced at them sideways and followed arrogantly.

The Korean envoy followed closely behind, snorting at them with his nose in his mouth.

Hosokawa Mochiyoshi's face was ashen as he stared at the three large ships on the sea, which slowly turned their rudders and headed toward the other side of the coastline.

At this distance, their cannons simply couldn't reach it.

In other words, if the Ming Dynasty attacked from the sea with warships, they could bombard them with cannons indefinitely, and the Ming Dynasty would have no ability to retaliate.

Because the weapons are inadequate.

Hosokawa Motooshi was so angry that he kicked their cannon hard.

Tayama Genichi advised, "How can we fight like this? General, why don't we negotiate?"

Hosokawa Mochiyoshi angrily asked, "What can we gain from peace talks?"

“Negotiation can be done skillfully,” said Tian Yuanyi. “We are at a disadvantage now, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get anything, because North Korea has no say in the matter.”

Hosokawa Mochiyo regained his composure: "You mean?"

“The real decision-makers are the generals of the Ming Dynasty. We can offer them treasures as bribes. I believe they don’t want to stay here any longer, and they are even less willing to sacrifice their soldiers,” Tian Shanyuan said. “What they need is military merit and to end this war. We should agree to that.”

Hosokawa Mochiyoshi narrowed his eyes and said, "I want the part of Korea south of Seoul."

Tayama Genichi: "We can talk about it. As long as the money is enough, it might not be impossible. Even if they don't agree, we want the whole of Busan and Busan Port."

“That makes sense. This place is now under our control, so it should be ours.” Hosokawa Mochiyoshi became happy again. After thinking for a moment, he ordered someone to open his treasure chest, which contained treasures he had seized from Korea. Now he was going to use them to bribe officials in the Ming Dynasty, which made Hosokawa Mochiyoshi very unhappy.

"If we had anticipated that the Ming Dynasty would intervene, we should have contacted the Nurgan Regional Military Commission in advance. As long as the Nurgan Regional Military Commission and Liaodong are in chaos, I don't believe the Ming Dynasty would have the resources to deal with the affairs of Korea."

Tayama Genichi sighed and said, "I originally planned to win a quick battle and take over Korea within three months. Before the Ming Dynasty could react, I would then unite with the tribes of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission to rebel against the Ming. I did not expect the Ming reinforcements to arrive so quickly."

This is truly a case of one wrong step leading to another.

But it's not too late now. Looking at the boxes and boxes of gold and silver jewelry that were brought out, a cold glint flashed in Tian Shanyuan's eyes. He didn't believe that anyone in this world could resist the temptation of gold and silver jewelry.

That evening, both Li Song and Pan Yu received a piece of jewelry; Li Song received a large box, while Pan Yu received a small box.

It seems that the Japanese can also distinguish between kings and queens.

Pan Yu carried a box of jewelry to Li Song, looking distressed: "General Li, what should we do?"

Li Song frowned, looking at him with disbelief: "General Pan has a bright future ahead of him, why are you so distraught?"

Pan Yu: "What are you having trouble thinking about?"

Li Song: "You actually want to ask me what to do about something so obvious? A good man's ambition lies on the battlefield. You are already a lieutenant general at such a young age. If you make meritorious contributions this time, you will be promoted to at least a Wuwei general when you return. You can eat and drink your fill. What do you need so much gold and silver jewelry for?"

Pan Yu paused for a moment and then said, "General Li, I think you are right. It's not that I covet these jewels, it's just that I'm unwilling to accept this."

"What are you unhappy about?"

“These jewels are clearly not from the Japanese; they were looted from the Korean people. If I return them, I’ll feel aggrieved. But if I keep them, wouldn’t I be accused of taking money and not doing my job? That would ruin my reputation.”

Li Song: ...

He couldn't find a rebuttal, and after a long pause, he slowly asked, "What do you plan to do with this money?"

“Distribute them to your soldiers or donate them to the local people,” Pan Yu paused before continuing, “These Japanese pirates entered the city and, in addition to massacring Hancheng, looted and burned other cities as well. Countless civilians were killed or injured, and large areas of wheat fields were burned. It is already June, and ordinary people have no food. I'm afraid they won't even be able to survive this winter.” (End of Chapter)