I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 230: You little bastard, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!

Hu Zongxian, Liu Tao, Xu Wei and Liang Menglong were soon invited to the Qinzheng Hall of Ziguang Pavilion.

After greeting and sitting down, Zhu Yijun pointed at Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang and said to the four people: "You two should report the situation of the mission to Korea to the four gentlemen."

"Yes!"

Ye Mengxiong gave the main lecture and Song Yingchang supplemented it. The two of them explained the situation in detail.

Hu Zongxian, Liu Tao, Xu Wei, and Liang Menglong were all close ministers of Zhu Yijun. They knew the prince's temper, and after hearing what Ye and Song said, they looked at each other and understood what was going on.

It's worth it!

The Korean king and his ministers are so bold that they don't know the mighty power of God!
Do you really think that the navy that Your Highness has painstakingly built and invested heavily in is just for show? It is used to intimidate foreign vassals who are not obedient! Haven't you seen the plight of Japan?

How dare you defy the majesty of God! Are you tired of living?

The four were led by Hu Zongxian, and the other three tacitly let him speak first.

"Your Highness, the Joseon monarch and his ministers are obsessed with internal strife and factional disputes, and they refuse to obey the king's rule and do not understand the authority of the heaven. They should be severely punished."

"Mr. Ruzhen, what kind of severe punishment do you think should be given?"

Hu Zongxian stood up and spoke eloquently: "I think we should advance by land and sea. In the early spring of this year, Liaodong Town will continue to use troops against Jianzhou and Haixi Jurchens, destroy their nests in the wild areas north of Songhua River and Changbai Mountain, and capture all their people. In the familiar areas such as Zhupo River and Hunhe River, we will build roads and cities to permanently secure the border.

At that time, we can turn around and move eastward to recover all the former Yuan land east of Changbai Mountain that was occupied by Korea for no reason.

By sea, we can follow Japan’s example and bombard ports such as Haeju and Ganghwa Island as a deterrent.”

Zhu Yijun put his hands in his sleeves and paced slowly.

"At the beginning of this spring, the most urgent task in Liaodong is to consolidate the old territory of Jianzhou and eliminate the Haixi Jurchens. Mr. Wenchang, is there any movement from Tumen Khan?"

Xu Wei replied, "In reply to your Highness, Tumen Khan received the news last year about our army's campaign to wipe out the Jianzhou and Haixi Jurchens, and he summoned his subordinates to discuss the matter.

They all thought that the Ming Dynasty was clearing the flank threat and might use military force against them, and they all asked Tumen Khan to launch an invasion of Liaodong after the spring warms up this year to contain our army and support the Jurchens.

Zhu Yijun nodded, "That's right. Our opponents are not fools. They will not sit back and watch us finish off the Jurchens on our flanks so that we can go all out to deal with them."

If the Chahar tribe attacks Liaodong in the west, the Haixi Jurchens and the remnants of the Jianzhou Jurchens in the north will surely fight back. Our army will be attacked from both sides. If we divide our forces to recover our homeland in the east, will we have any spare strength?"

Hu Zongxian shook his head quickly: "Your Highness, if the Chahar tribe attacks Liaodong, our army will need to fight on the western and northern fronts, and we really don't have the spare energy to cross Changbai Mountain to recover the old territory."

At this point, Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang who were sitting next to them also realized that Hu Zongxian actually had a plan in mind a long time ago. He knew that Tumen Khan would do something bad to Liaodong after the beginning of this spring. The military strength of the Qing Dynasty in Liaodong would be relatively tight, and there would be no spare energy to use troops eastward because the Korean monarch and his ministers did not recognize the power of heaven.

However, the two of them told the story of their diplomatic mission to Korea. The Korean monarch and his ministers were so disrespectful to them that Hu Zongxian and others would definitely go down the ladder and demand severe punishment. How could they let them off lightly?

This is the way of being a minister, and it is worth learning.

More importantly, Hu Zongxian and others knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was wise and would weigh the pros and cons and would not make rash decisions in the heat of the moment.

Therefore, the subtle conversation between the emperor and his minister just now conveyed the situation clearly.

Your Highness, Liaodong is short of land forces, so we cannot impose severe punishment for the time being. How about we think of other ways?

As expected, Zhu Yijun seemed to have expected this, and nodded naturally, "Land transportation is not possible, how about water transportation? Well, Haizhou Port and Ganghwa Island. I remember that these two seaports, docks, shops and warehouses were all built and operated by the Ming Dynasty merchants."

Liang Menglong, who was in charge of the Shipping Department, immediately replied: "Your Highness is wise!"

Then you can't bombard them. You're hitting your own business and destroying your own property. You can't do such a stupid thing.

Hearing this, Ye Mengxiong and Song Yingchang looked at each other.

Could it be that we have no idea how to deal with this rogue North Korea?
The two of them suddenly felt a little depressed. The military power of the Ming Dynasty's navy and army has been stronger than ever in the past two years, but they can't defeat North Korea?
Zhu Yijun turned around twice, then turned back and asked Xu Wei: "Mr. Wenchang, you are in charge of the Advisory Office. What is the situation in Korea?"

The Provincial Information Office took over the Commercial Investigation Section's overseas intelligence network and developed rapidly, especially in Japan, Korea, Annan, Champa, and Siam, where it had spies and secret agents spread out widely.

As soon as Xu Wei heard it, he knew what Zhu Yijun wanted to ask.

It is definitely not asking whether North Korea is peaceful now, but it is definitely asking what internal conflicts there are.

"In reply to your Highness, the Advisory Office has learned that in addition to the endless factional strife in the court, Jeolla Province, Sanggyeong Province and other places are also experiencing public resentment due to natural disasters and man-made disasters."

When everyone heard this, they were all guessing how His Highness was going to proceed.

"The people are boiling with resentment! Harsh government is as ferocious as a tiger. This is a lesson learned by all previous dynasties.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was a saying, "Are there any kings, princes, generals or ministers of different races?" At the end of the Han Dynasty, there was a saying, "The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky should be established!" At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was a saying, "The fragrance of incense permeated Chang'an, and the whole city was covered with golden armor." At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a saying, "The stone man with one eye stirred up the Yellow River and the whole world rebelled."

It is still vivid in my mind. ”

Zhu Yijun was silent for a while. "Mr. Zhuo Wu (Li Zhi) presided over the Propaganda Bureau to summarize the civil turmoil and catastrophes of previous dynasties. We should learn from the past and prepare for the future. We should learn from the lessons ourselves. Korea is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, so it should also learn from the lessons.

Mr. Wenchang. "

Xu Wei was refreshed and immediately replied, "I am here!"

"The Provincial Affairs Office has started planning and will select the places where North Koreans feel the most resentment, preferably in the east, south, west, and north. We will prepare for both scenarios."

Zhu Yijun made a gesture, and Qi Yan immediately signaled a young eunuch from the Imperial Household Department to take notes nearby.

"First, bribe local officials and let them be greedy. Send them more luxurious things to buy, encourage them to build more temples and Taoist temples, invite eminent monks, perform more Buddhist rituals, and pray for blessings.

If they spend too much, they will naturally squeeze the local people dry and exploit them.

On the other hand, they sent people to instigate and incite the local frustrated tyrants, and gave them some of the pamphlets of the White Lotus Sect and the Mother of No Birth that were seized by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arm their minds.

Then, transport some of the weapons and armor that were discarded by the Nanzhili and Jiubian armies and discard them in the mountains and fields, and tell them to pick them up. Tell them that this is a divine oracle from heaven, asking them to reverse the Tiangang and reshape the world.

Then the Advisory Office was in the middle and coordinated secretly. When an uprising broke out in the east, the Korean soldiers went to suppress it. When the troops were exhausted, an uprising broke out in the west. Then the north and the south found opportunities to start uprisings one after another, making the Korean court exhausted.

I know that the Korean officers and soldiers are poorly armed, but those civilian volunteers are probably even worse. There are even worse ones among the bad ones. The Advisory Office must help them well and don't let them be wiped out by the Korean officers and soldiers so quickly, wasting our efforts. "

Not only were Hu Zongxian and others stunned, even Xu Wei, who was full of clever tricks and called himself the contemporary Jia Xu and Chen Ping, found it incredible.

Can you still do this?
Zhu Yijun stopped and turned to look at Xu Wei.

Xu Wei shuddered when he was stared at by him, and immediately stood up and said, "Your Highness is wise! I will keep it in mind."

"Well, the Provincial Affairs Advisory Office will invite people from the Education Bureau to participate. When we mess with others, we must also be careful not to be messed with by others. The people from the Education Bureau will participate in this to summarize the experience and lessons and provide them to the imperial court.

It is to let everyone see how rampant local corrupt officials and extortionate taxes and levies can arouse civil unrest, sweep across the local area, and slaughter officials and tyrants!"

Hu Zongxian and the others could no longer sit still, and stood up and said in unison: "Your Highness is wise!"

Seeing that everyone agreed and no one objected, Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction.

North Korea is a small country, you think I can’t deal with you?

You little bastard, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!

(End of this chapter)